A true crime blog giving voices back to the victims of child abuse and shining a harsh spotlight on the parents, guardians, and caretakers who silenced them.

Resources

National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453)

By Region:

New York Child Abuse Hotline – (212) 335-4308

SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline offers 24/7, 365 days per year immediate crisis counseling for people experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-made disaster. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is a government agency leading public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 to provide free and confidential support for people in distress, as well as and prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones. You can speak with someone by calling (800) 273-8255, or connect with a counselor through their online Lifeline Chat service.

ChildHelp.org aims to help victims of child abuse through education, treatment, and prevention programs. You can call or text them at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) or even live chat with a support specialist on their website. I mentioned ChildHelp.org recently in my blog post and podcast episode about Ame Deal. The lead investigator on Ame’s case, Greg McKay, is now the organization’s Chief Operating Officer. I have tremendous respect for him!

HelpAndHope.org offers advice and resources to parents for the daily challenges of raising children, including parenting tips, fun ideas for kids, and (obviously) help and hope.

HelpGuide.org helps you help yourself by showing you how to start improving your mental health and wellness today.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is a bottomless well of information and resources. The NIMH is “the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders” and provides education on a variety of mental health disorders as well as resources, clinical trials, and much more.

The Blue Ribbon Project – An organization based in Maryland committed to preventing child abuse and neglect and providing a support network for survivors of child abuse, foster care, and child sexual assault.

Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey – Founded in 1979, this organization’s efforts throughout New Jersey are dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect in all forms.

National Child Abuse Coalition – Through advocacy, education, and outreach, this organization works to support families and communities to prevent child abuse and improve the public systems that respond to and address abuse.

Justice for Children – This organization was founded upon the belief that every child is entitled to a zealous advocate to fight for their safety. When they system fails to provide such advocacy, Justice for Children will.

National Children’s Alliance – NCA is the national association and accrediting body for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs). Their motto is “empowering local communicites to serve child victims of abuse.”

Kids and Cars – This nonprofit organization is dedicated to preventing vehicle-related risks to children such as hot car deaths, carbon monoxide poisoning, trunk entrapment, power window strangulation, frontovers and backovers, car theft with children or animals inside, falls, knocking cars into gear by accident, drowning inside a vehicle, underage drivers, etc.

Suffer the Little Children Podcast – I’d be a fool if I didn’t include my own podcast in this list! On my weekly podcast, I cover a different story in each episode, delving into as much detail as you’ve come to expect from my blog posts (and then some).

Truth and Justice with Bob Ruff – This is a listener driven show, devoted to the pursuit of truth and justice. Host Bob Ruff covers a single case of possible false conviction each season, taking a “deep dive” into the details and leading a crowd-sourced investigation to get to the truth. Last year, the subject of the show’s second season, Ed Ates, was released from prison after 20 years thanks to the efforts of the Truth and Justice Army!

True Crime Garage – Hosts Nic and The Captain discuss a different case each episode, sometimes examining a single case over a few episodes, presenting the facts of the case amidst their thoughtful and often humorous back and forth.

Last Podcast on the Left – Jocular humor meets incredibly thorough research in this podcast covering all things horrific and hosted by producer/researcher Marcus Parks, comedian/political commentator Ben Kissel, and actor/comedian Henry Zebrowski.

My Favorite Murder – Self described as a true crime comedy podcast, which they freely admit is a weird combination, hosts and comedians Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark each cover a different case per episode, chatting about each case as freely and irreverently as if they weren’t being recorded. Luckily for us, they are.

Timesuck with Dan Cummins – A historical podcast for the chronically curious, Timesuck is hosted by stand-up comedian/writer Dan Cummins, who applies his boundless enthusiasm and dark humor to largely listener-suggested topics, many of which are crime-related.

Cold (The Susan Powell story) – In December 2009, young Utah mother Susan Powell disappeared from her West Valley home. She has never been found. Her husband, Josh, was the focus of the active police investigation until he blew up his home in Graham, Washington, killing himself and the couple’s two young sons, Charlie and Braden. KSL Newsradio executive digital producer Dave Cawley created this limited-run podcast to break down the case after diving into public and police records. Even if you think you know the Powell case inside and out, you will be blown away by the detail given in this series.

True Crime Brewery – Adorable married couple Jill and Dick, a retired pediatrician, review a beer each episode before digging into the facts of a case. Their banter, opinions, and commentary make the show well worth the listen, not to mention Jill’s exhaustive research and Dick’s invaluable medical knowledge.

Once Upon a Crime – Host Esther Ludlow breaks down the “story behind the story” of infamous crimes as well as some lesser known cases.

misconduct. a true crime podcast – Host Colleen goes over the facts and theories of solved and unsolved crimes, wrongful convictions, and miscarriages of justice.

Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime? – This incredibly informative, detailed article written by Gene Weingarten and published in the Washington Post in 2009 demonstrates just how easy it is for anyone with any level of education and from any walk of life to forget their child in a car. If you can forget your purse or your cell phone, you can forget your child; this article explains how the human brain can sabotage itself. Highly recommended!